Kasich campaign disavows ad by pro-Kasich super PAC

MANCHESTER, N.H. — John Kasich's campaign is disavowing an ad by a pro-Kasich super PAC that targets Marco Rubio for voting against legislation designed to curb violence against women.

The 30-second spot, first reported by POLITICO on Sunday and set to begin airing in New Hampshire Tuesday as part of a $1 million buy, is also under fire from Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who was featured in it without her knowledge.

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The ad by New Day for America super PAC shows a clip of Ayotte in 2013 calling for renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, then pivots to Rubio's opposition.

"If you are a victim of violence then you should first of all get all the support you need and deserve —you and your family. And also the defendant of these crimes need to be held accountable. We need to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act because this continues to be a critical need in our country," Ayotte says in the ad. Text in the ad then reads, "Seventy-eight senators, including every female, supported the Violence Against Women Act. Who voted against it? Marco Rubio."

But on Monday, both Ayotte herself and Kasich's chief strategist, John Weaver, criticized the ad.

"The Violence Against Women Act provides critical resources for domestic violence prevention and support for survivors, and I worked across party lines to help renew this landmark law," Ayotte said in a statement. "This is a serious issue, and I'm appalled that an outside group has exploited it in a political attack."

Weaver wrote in a tweet that the ad should be pulled.

@johnkasich is running an optimistic, problem solving campaign & is attracting support for this singular approach. We have called on (1/2)

Rubio and 21 other senators voted against reauthorizing the legislation in 2013. The Florida senator expressed support for most of the bill at the time. But he opposed the final measure because of provisions added on that he said diverted funding from domestic violence initiatives to programs focused on sexual assault.

"There’s no evidence to suggest this shift will result in a greater number of convictions," Rubio said then. “These funding decisions should be left up to the state-based coalitions that understand local needs best, but instead this new legislation would put those decisions into the hands of distant Washington bureaucrats in the Department of Justice."

Rubio's campaign did not respond to a request for comment late Sunday night about the ad or the responses from Ayotte and Weaver on Monday.

Ayotte is the most high-profile Republican in New Hampshire; she is well regarded in the state and within the Senate. She was one of the original co-sponsors of the measure.

Ayotte, who faces a tough reelection race this year against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, has not endorsed in the GOP presidential primary. A late Sunday night message to her Senate office was not immediately answered.

"New Hampshire is fortunate to have a strong, principled senator in Kelly Ayotte, who stood up and cast a courageous vote in support of the Violence Against Women Act," New Day for America spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp said in a statement Sunday. "This was actually one of the few votes that Senator Marco Rubio showed up for, but he voted no and is going to have a tough time explaining to New Hampshire voters why he turned his back on women. When John Kasich was in Congress, he voted twice to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act."

An official at the super PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the criticism of the ad.

Kasich has staked his campaign on a strong showing in the first-in-the-nation Feb. 9 primary here, all but ignoring Monday's Iowa caucuses. He's competing with Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to become the consensus pick of the mainstream GOP.